Price: $1.50 (on sale)
Serving: 1/3 box, 1 cup prepared
Calories: 220
Fat: 7%, 5g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 24%, 570mg
Protein: 8g
Carbohydrates: 13%, 39g
Fiber: 10%, 2g
Sugar: 8g
Weight Watchers Points: 4 points

Near East says: A delicate and flavorful dish consisting of 100% semolina wheat couscous combined with savory roasted garlic, onion and olive oil.

Abi says: Dear readers, please allow me to completely revolutionize your dinner time. If your are unfamiliar with couscous, don’t be scared. If you are familiar with couscous you’re nodding your head right now thinking ‘Dang, why don’t I make couscous all of the time?!?!’ I am appalled that I haven’t written about couscous before now.

For the uninitiated, couscous is basically tiny pasta balls. It is not a grain, like rice or bulgar, but essentially super-chopped spaghetti. But it is 18 times better than spaghetti because it is the easiest pasta ever invented. Also, it will not get marinara sauce on your white shirt. Oh, you are saying ‘What is easier than boiling water, putting in pasta and then draining it?’

Consider this couscous workflow:

• Measure 1 1/4 cups of water into a pot. Add a glug of olive oil and the seasoning packet, bring to a boil.
• Stir in couscous, cover and remove from heat.
• After five minutes lift lid from pot, fluff couscous and serve

How insanely easy is that? You can’t even think of anything easier! Making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is more difficult! Okay, faster - but you have to use a knife!

Now, this couscous from Near East is ‘instant’ couscous, which accounts for its super-speedy cooking time. Near East carries a wide variety of instant couscouses, but I have to say that the Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil variety holds a very special place in my heart. I like it because each box comes with enough seasoning that I don’t have to flavor the other ingredients I add to the dish. Shown here are chicken and peas. I’m also enamored of the serving size. Sure, 1 cup of food doesn’t seem like a whole lot, but once you add a chicken breast and a cup of vegetables you’ve got a remarkably filling, colorful, delicious meal for three.

Or if there are two of you, you can put the 3rd serving in a refrigerator box (anyone want to buy these for me so that I can stop using Ziploc containers?) and one of you can have it for lunch the next day. Couscous reheats beautifully.

You might be confused by my enthusiasm now, but once you give yourself over to the cult of couscous you’ll finally understand what fueled the Islamic Golden Age.*

*This statement is speculation based on a combination of claims in two Wikipedia articles. It should in no way be construed as a definitive statement on the existence of couscous in 7th century Arabia.